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Thursday, May 19, 2011

LSC Roundup 5-19

FLORENCE, Ala. – After three days of stroke play ACU will move onto Thursday's match medal play after finishing second at the 2011 NCAA National Championships on the Fighting Joe Course at Robert Trent Jones Golf Trails.

ACU finished at 282 (-2) on Wednesday 14 strokes behind Lynn University who enters Thursday's match play as the No. 1 seed. Cal State-Monterey Bay finished +17 in a tie for third with Central Oklahoma who charged hard shooting -6 in their third round. Central Missouri (+21), Newberry College (+26), Fort Lewis (+30), and Barton College (+30) round out the top eight that advances into match play beginning Thursday morning at 7:45 a.m.

Spotlight on San Antonio talent in NCAA baseball tournament - Jerry Briggs, San Antonio Express
With the NCAA Division II South Central Regional baseball tournament opening Thursday at V.J. Keefe Stadium, the spotlight will shine on the city’s talent pool. Both top-seeded St. Mary’s and No. 6 Incarnate Word have always recruited heavily in the local area. This year’s teams are no different.

Most of the players scheduled to compete in the UIW-St. Mary’s game Thursday night hail from San Antonio area high schools. St. Mary’s coach Charlie Migl likely will write down the names of eight starters from area schools on his lineup card. In contrast, Incarnate Word coach Danny Heep probably will send out seven starters from the area.

UIW’s star is left-handed starting pitcher Kirk Jewasko, a junior from East Central. Jewasko went 12-1 with a 3.31 earned run average for the Lone Star Conference champions. He was named LSC and regional Pitcher of the Year.

Sophomore left fielder Meghan Slattery bats ninth for the No. 12 Lady Buffs, but she is no slouch at the plate. The right-handed hitter is fifth on the team in batting average (.316), third in RBIs (48), second in slugging percentage (.599) and second in home runs (12).

"Meghan brings a lot of different things to our offensive lineup out of the nine spot," WT coach Kevin Blaskowski said. "She brings the ability to bunt and get on base, but on top of that she is a contact hitter that can hit for power. She's really kind of another run-producer in the bottom of our lineup. Besides her speed and her ability to use the short game, her power is probably her greatest asset."

Slattery understands her role.

"The coaches always talked to me about being a nine-hole hitter," Slattery said. "The role of being a nine-hole hitter is always to make something happen. Nine-hole is like a double leadoff. I understand that with runners on base I need to be that person that brings them in, but if no one is on base I need to be able to make something happen because the top of the order is right behind me."

The Rambelles' season ended Sunday when they fell to Midwestern State in the if-necessary game of South Central Regional 1 in Wichita Falls.

The Mustangs advanced to this weekend's South Central Super Regional, where they will face West Texas A&M in a best-of-3 series for the regional title and World Series berth.

The Rambelles won that Super Regional each of the past two years, outlasting Midwestern State last season and Nebraska-Omaha in 2009.

ASU is expected to be playing deep into May. The Rambelles have now five conference championships, four regional championships and one national title since 2003.

They were the Lone Star Conference South Division regular-season champions this season. They went 2-2 at the conference tournament before pushing MSU to the if-necessary game of South Central Regional 1.

But when the season began back in February, there weren't many signs that the Rambelles could be as good as they were in 2009 and 2010, when they advanced to the College World Series.

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Texans sign Division I guard Shedrick Haynes - TSU Basketball
STEPHENVILLE – The Tarleton Texan men’s basketball program has announced its first signing of the offseason with the addition of NCAA Division I recruit Shedrick Haynes.

Haynes, a 6-0, 180-pound guard from Brandenton, Fla., will transfer from Big East Conference school South Florida to play his final season with the Texans in 2011-12.

“Shedrick brings an immediate impact guard to our program,” said Tarleton head coach Lonn Reisman. “He is a multi-threat player. He is a great shooter, but he also has athletic ability to beat a defender and create his own shot or set up others. The thing that stood out most during the recruiting process was how great a young man Shedrick is and how he will become an excellent ambassador for our Tarleton basketball program. It was important to our staff to not only find a player with Shedrick’s ability, but also a guy that will lead vocally and by example. Shedrick has a desire to succeed, and during our meetings it was evident that he will bring a unique energy with him, and he can handle the lofty expectations we have here at Tarleton.”

Layssard signs with Texas A&M Kingsville - TAMK Basketball
When Ryan Layssard finished his high school basketball career at Opelousas High two years ago and set his sights on Baton Rouge Community College, he knew he was only halfway toward finishing his goal.

Wednesday, inside the OHS library with his parents and former coaches on hand, the 5-foot-9 point guard took yet another step toward earning a bachelor's degree, signing a letter of intent to play basketball at Texas A&M Kingsville, a Division II school that competes in the Lone Star Conference.

"This is a blessing from God," Layssard said. "It shows that hard work pays off."

"Ryan has been more than just a basketball player for us for the last two years. He's been our leader," BRCC coach James Rix said.

As a freshman Layssard led the Bears to 17 wins. This past season, he led the team to 18 on his way to becoming the first scholarship basketball player from BRCC, which instituted the program in '09, to sign with a four year institution.

"This year he was elected as our captain by his teammates and at the end of the season he was voted our most valuable player," Rix said. "We're very proud of Ryan and the effort he has given us and we wish him well."

But tennis wasn't her racket when she came to Tarleton State. Instead, she became arguably the best golfer the school has had.

"She was my best golfer," said TexAnns 12th-year coach Jerry Doyle. "I am very upset at losing her and need a great player to replace her."

Cooper, 22, wasn't thrilled with how her career ended — she was 19th at the NCAA Division II Tournament as the TexAnns repeated their fourth-place team finish. However, it didn't deter from a noteworthy career that reached its apex in her senior season when she won the region and Lone Star Conference titles, was ranked as high as No. 1 in the nation and was averaging 72.96 strokes heading into the national tournament. Additionally, she was a two-time All-American and two-time Academic Player of the Year in the LSC.

"I wish I would have played better," Cooper said of the national tournament. "You have those tournaments when you don't do as well as you would like. I was pleased with the rest of my season and for the team."

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ROD WEST JOINS A&M-COMMERCE COACHING STAFF - TAMC Football
COMMERCE, Texas -- Texas A&M University-Commerce head football coach Guy Morriss has announced the addition of Rod West to the Lions' coaching staff. West will handle responsibility for the A&M-Commerce defensive backs.

West comes to Commerce after a stint at Morehouse College where he served as the defensive backs coach. Prior to that, West was a graduate assistant coach at Delta State, serving on the staff that advanced to the Division II national championship game. West began his coaching career at Kentucky Christian in 2009, serving on the defensive staff that finished second in the nation in fewest passing yards per game.

The Selma, Alabama native played his college ball at Alabama State University, serving as a two-year starter at free safety and rover. West amassed 89 tackles and three interceptions as ASU ranked among the top-20 in scoring defense both his junior and senior seasons. He graduated cum laude in May 2009 with degree in English and a minor in Political Science